Sorrow & Happiness
by MsBecciChan
Summary: It's a beautiful night and Zeldris is looking up to sky, thinking about all the things had happened in the past. About all the painful memories but also about the meeting with one certain person, who changes his life... (I wanna dedicate this fic especially to the wonderful @Galfridus. It's a secret santa gift and she was my giftee. Merry Christmas!)


**Before the story starts, I wanted to thank @yuleira (on tumblr) for helping me out and beta reading!****And now, enjoy!****~~~**

'What a beautiful night…' Zeldris looked up to the dark sky with its beautiful shining stars. He loved going on these evening walks, where he was able to spend some time alone, far away from any duties and could think about the events happened in the past years. A lot happened since _that day_. The special one, he despised even thinking about. It was filled with pain and grief and he still couldn't bear it. That one day she had disappeared from his life. Killed by his own father before his very own eyes. The Demon King never spoke highly of their relationship; he even forced him to seal her away.

_This went well for several years. Until his brother, Meliodas found her and sealed her away again, so that she would have the chance to wait for him. Until he came to free her._

_But things turned out so very differently._

_He was so close. His mentor even tried to convince him it was a stupid idea; Meliodas had surely killed her long ago and lied to him._

_'He is a traitor anyways. Why should he let her life?' he said._

_'__It's true, he is a traitor, but I know she's alive. I can _feel_ it!' This was Zeldris' final response before he set off to find her. He followed his emotions until he reached the designated location. But what he discovered left him deeply shaken. It broke his heart. She lay on the ground; the seal was broken. Beneath her a pool of blood was spreading and something black and spiky protruded from her chest._

_'Gelda…' there was nothing more the black-haired demon could say. He rushed to her side and embraced her body._

_A single teardrop rolled down his cheek. 'Gelda… please answer me…'_

_'Zel-dris? Is… Is that really you?'_

_'Yes, it's me!'_

_'I am so sorry', she placed her hand softly and weakly on his cheek, wiping away his tears. 'Please, don't cry.'_

_'But…'_

_'I'm still alive,' she smiled at him slightly. 'You found me. I couldn't be happier.'_

_'Gelda, tell me what I should do. How can I help you?'_

_She was about to say something but in that exact moment a black spike shot through her again. And again. Over and over._

_Zeldris couldn't tell what had happened._

_'GELDA!'_

_'This is her punishment.'_

_He looked up and saw his father who was glancing at him silently. He grinned at his son viciously until he was swallowed by a black-greyish fog._

_Zeldris looked down on the lifeless body in his arms. It was still warm._

_'Gel-da…? Please… say something…'_

_But she didn't answer. And he began to cry bitterly._

_He didn't know how much time had passed, how long he had sat there, crying. But it had to be a long time because the sun was about to go down. His eyes were dry; the last tracks of tears were visible on his cheeks. But none of those brought her back. She was gone and had left him alone. Like his beloved mother._

_The demon prince stood up, her body still in his arms. He went to a river and removed the blood from her body. Zeldris lay her down, looking for long branches, which he tied together. Before he placed her on top of the float, he kissed her forehead for a last time._

_'Farewell, my beloved Gelda.' And with these last words he let the float into the water._

...

The demon was still looking up to the sky.

_Huh? What's this?_

He touched his cheeks, the tips of his fingers were wet.

He didn't even recognize he had started to cry when thinking about these painful memories. Zeldris wiped his tears away fast, sighing. Even if it wasn't easy to work through those painful memories and it hurt each time he reminisced, over time the grief lessened. Not only because he'd learned to deal with her loss, but mostly because of _him_.

_It happened shortly after Zeldris returned. He chose to be stoic and suppressed the fact that his beloved had just died five days ago. They waged a war after all. He stayed in Camelot while his comrades were scattered throughout Britannia. It was easy for the young demon to overthrow the king. He was a__ child. Well, actually, he looked like one. But his optimism was something Zeldris loathed more than anything._

It's war! How can someone be so reckless? _He thought as he walked upstairs to look after him. It was easy, almost too easy, to imprison him. When he reached his prison cell he stopped immediately._ It's empty?!

_'WHERE IS HE?'_

_'Are you talking about me?' Zeldris turned around to find the young king stepping out the shadow, grinning widely._

_'That's impossible! You never could've broken out!'_

_'Well, I did, however.' He turned serious. '__And now, back off! I, Arthur, am the true king of Camelot.'_

_The taller one pointed his sword at the black-haired who stared at the other condescendingly. 'We will see.' The short demon pulled his own sword and knocked Arthur's out of his hand. He couldn't do anything as Zeldris attacked him. The shorter one was too skilled and strong for him. Zeldris succeeded to push Arthur into a corner. 'And now die, human.' He aimed at the young king who was convinced these were his final minutes. He was sure to never see Merlin ever again. He would never discover which powers he was supposed to have. Arthur closed his eyes, knowing that soon everything would be over. He sent a last prayer to heaven, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes again, slowly and insecure. The blade of Zeldris' sword was only a few inches away from his face. He took this short moment to inspect the others face inch by inch. His pitch-black hair was a nice contrast to his pale skin, his eyes black and empty as if they could reflect his soul. But there was something else. Sadness. And pain._

What might be the reason for this?

_Arthur observed every little movement from his opponent. How he lowered his sword and how the fabric fit tightly around his well-trained body while he put it back in its sheath. How well this wine-red suited him._

_'Damn it…' mumbled Zeldris quietly. Those bright purple eyes of__ the boy reminded him too much of Gelda. She had always spread joy as well. Even if it was impossible for Arthur to be a reincarnation of Gelda, he couldn't hurt him._

What if… No, that's impossible! She only died a few days ago!

_He looked up to Arthur again. The taller one eyed the demon unafraid, yet curiously…_

_Why couldn't he fear him like everybody else? Why did he have to be so different?_

_…_

But that difference was exactly what Zeldris liked so much about Arthur. He didn't see him as a horrible monster. As the son of the Demon King. As a demon and current leader of the Ten Commandments. Just as himself. A young man who had to deal with the loss of his beloved lover.

_Am I imagining things or has it gotten colder?_ He wrapped his arms around himself, rubbing his upper arms and was just about to head back home when he felt something warm and soft on his shoulders.

'Huh?'

'I saw you leaving without a coat so I thought I should get it to you', said Arthur out of breath. 'It's going to snow later, and I don't want you to catch a cold.'

'Th-Thanks…' Zeldris blushed slightly while putting on his coat. Arthur always cared so much about him. He was just as affectionate as Gelda had been. Zeldris had only been used to Gelda treating him this way and to be honest, he loved it but surely wouldn't admit it at all.

'Zeldris, look! It's snowing!' Arthur yelled suddenly.

He looked up. 'I see. It's beautiful.'

'Isn't it? I know a much better place to watch it. But we have to take a little walk.'

Zeldris looked at him irritated.

'Trust me, it's totally worth it.' Arthur took the demon's hand and pulled him along.

'Do we really have to do this?'

'I thought you loved taking walks?' countered the young king.

'I do but… it's snowing more and more. What if we get lost...?'

'What won't happen and now come on!'

Zeldris couldn't suppress an annoyed sigh but Arthur's grin was filled with excitement. _Why does he always have to be so cheerful?_

The two went through the snow, Arthur ahead with Zeldris silently behind him. He just couldn't imagine what the taller one was so excited about. What he wanted to show him now and why it couldn't have waited until the next day.

After a long walk they came to stop on top of a hill.

'This is what I wanted to show you.' Zeldris halted beside Arthur. He was speechless. From this view he saw the entire capital, Camelot, brightly illuminated and wonderfully decorated for its Christmas market.

'I know you don't like crowded places very much so I thought we could watch it from a bit further away. Besides, we have an amazing view from here and can also admire the beautiful sky.'

'Arthur…'

'You don't have to say anything. Just enjoy it.'

Zeldris intertwined their fingers and leaned against his shoulder.

'That's very kind of you, thank you.'

Arthur smiled at him. 'There is something else…'

'And that would be?'

The young king laid a hand on the demon's cheek, pulled him over and kissed him. Zeldris didn't really know what hit him. Arthur had never kissed him before. His lips felt smooth and warm but also tingled because of the cold. Zeldris closed his eyes and enjoyed this moment.

Then, the taller one grinned brightly. 'Merry Christmas.'

'Merry Christmas', replied the prince to his king and pulled him into another kiss.


End file.
